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The FDA estimates current obtuse labels on prescription drugs are leading to $3.8 billion in unnecessary hospital costs because of incorrect drug use, one of several reasons behind the agency's work on guidelines it hopes will lead to labels that are clearer to physicians and consumers. The agency expects to issue the guidelines within weeks as part of an effort to ensure all parties better understand the text on a container of medicine and the paperwork that accompanies it.

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New rules under consideration by the FDA would allow clinical trials conducted outside the U.S. to use placebos in assessing a drug's effectiveness even when an effective treatment already exists. In addition, according to a HealthDay News report cited by the Wall Street Journal, the agency is considering dropping a requirement that a participant in a foreign trial to be given the best available treatment after a trial ends.

The FDA issued guidelines for drug companies on ways to improve safety monitoring of their products during early-stage development and after they have entered the market. An FDA official said the agency's goal is "closer and earlier discussions and collaboration between FDA and industry on safety issues."

A new report from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy finds that while the U.S. is still the world leader in nanotech research funding and publication, other countries have taken note of the potential and are investing heavily in the science. The report finds that while the research is likely to lead to new materials for clothing and sports equipment in the short-term, nanotechnology is set to lead to new medical products and "bio-enhancement" materials in the long-term.

The U.S. government plans to create the Human Cancer Genome Project to compile a freely available databank of all known genetic mutations that characterize cancer as a way to find "the Achilles' heel of tumors" and find treatments to prevent them. The estimated cost of the project is $1.35 billion for nine years, although some experts in the field are suggesting the emphasis of the project may be misdirected.

The Israeli government reportedly has decided to adopt a five-year period for drug data exclusivity in the country, three years less than has been demanded by the U.S. Israel currently has no exclusivity period, and when a foreign firm registers a drug in the country the information can be used by a national company to register a generic version of the drug.